21 fishing captains in the Outer Banks are among the best in the world

Every April since 2015, FishingBooker, the world’s largest platform connecting anglers and fishing guides, announces its yearly Angler’s Choice Award. This exclusive recognition acknowledges charter operators for their exceptional customer service, reliability, and quality of fishing trips. Out of 7,910 captains who partner with FishingBooker, only 537, or 6.8%, were recognized for their excellence each quarter this year.

21 of the winners are in the Outer Banks, which is an amazing 16% of all captains listed on FishingBooker in the region (132). That means that OBX captains performed more than twice above the national average.

When looking at the performance of all US states, North Carolina came in as the #11 state by highest share of Angler’s Choice Award winning captains.

Here is the full list of fishing guides in the Outer Banks that received the yearly Angler’s Choice Award (ranked in no particular order):

  • Captains Jimmy, Scotty, and Jason of Bonehead Charters

  • Zach Vann of Finn Charters

  • Jerry Teel of Got-em Charters

  • Jeffrey Del Monte of Island Saltwater Adventure

  • Jamie Parker of OBX Fishing Outfitters

  • Captains Jed, Jamie, and John of Absolut Fishing Charters

  • Jonathan Bunn of Blue Chip Sportfishing

  • Tom Dileo of Chasin’ Tyde Charters

  • Dan Dunn of Haley Adyson Sportfishing

  • Drew Creef of Willy C Charters

  • Ryan Spear of X-Spearmint Sportfishing

  • Jonathon Welch of JW Charters

  • Devin Cage of Poacher Sportfishing Charters

  • Mark McGuire of Reel Em In Charters

  • Terry Payne of OBX Inshore Fishing Excursions

  • Ralph Craddock of Hayden Express Charters

  • Michael Rosso of Old School Fishing Charters

  • Randy Thornton of Riptide Charters

  • Vincent Santullo of Stick Em Fishing Adventures

  • Paul Lesiewicz of STOLAT Fishing Charters

  • Captains Lewis and Ryan of Waymaker Charters

Vukan Simic, CEO of FishingBooker, stated: “We’ve been awarding the Angler’s Choice Award since 2015. Over time, the criteria became tougher, as we wanted to recognize and honor our most committed captains, and to make it easier for anglers to identify the very best guides on our platform. Today, we have the pleasure of recognizing a very select group of guides. We couldn’t be more excited to honor them for their hard work and dedication.”

To be eligible for the award, fishing guides had to meet the following criteria over the past 12 months:

  • 4.8+ out of 5-star review rating from 10+ verified reviews.

  • 98% reliability score and response rate.

  • Full business verification.

You can find more information about the criteria for the Angler’s Choice Award, as well as a full ranking of all 31 states by share of winners, here.

An image from each charter was provided and published by FishingBooker, and can be seen in the featured slideshow below:

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